Expert thought

In view of the restrictive 2018 Luhansk People’s Republic statute, it is not surprising that some groups declined to apply for registration, while others were refused. The result is that many religious communities find themselves outside the law…. the 48 Baptist Union congregations have had to cease their activity altogether.

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Religious Studies

In the context of recent events in the Orthodox world, disputes over the boundaries of church institutions often arise between the Patriarchate of Constantinople, Kyiv and Moscow. Ukraine accuses Russia of misappropriating the territory of the Kyiv Metropolis. In its turn, Moscow appeals to the fact that the ancient Kyiv Metropolis differs from the territory of modern Ukraine. RISU decided to clarify this topic, getting advice from historians. Based on this research, we prepared an infographic.

The first question that arises concerning Ukraine is this: with what right and based on which holy canons, does Russia today claim the ecclesiastical and administrative dependency of the Metropolis of Kyiv?

The Jews of Donetsk still living in the midst of Ukraine's ongoing armed conflict

Semyon Dovzhik

Keeping Jewish life alive is a daily struggle for the local community of 3,000 in a city held by pro-Russian militants.

Before the war came, the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk was home to a thriving community of 15,000 Jews.

This was a place where organisations like Chabad, Israel’s Jewish Agency and the American-Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), among others, were all active.

But when pro-Russian militants, backed by the Russian army, took control of the city and other parts of eastern Ukraine in 2014, Donetsk became a war zone, a site of constant artillery shelling and heavy fighting.

Led by Donetsk’s rabbi Pinchas Vishedski, the community organised the evaculation of young families to western parts of the country.

Refugees were housed in hotels and summer camps around Kyiv in the hope that the fighting would end soon. When that did not happen, Rabbi Vishedski started a community in the Ukrainian capital. Others moved to Israel and Germany.

But up to 3,000 Jews did not leave Donetsk.

For more read: https://www.thejc.com/news/world/the-jews-of-donetsk-still-living-in-the-midst-of-ukraine-s-ongoing-armed-conflict-1.481312